Phil wins for third time in four Champions starts

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Having celebrated the first decade of the FedExCup last September with Rory McIlroy’s memorable charge to the championship, the PGA TOUR and FedEx Corp. have announced a long-term extension of the shipping giant’s sponsorship of the FedExCup season-long competition on the PGA TOUR. “The FedEx relationship has been invaluable to the PGA TOUR on multiple fronts for more than 30 years, beginning with its sponsorship of the FedEx St. Jude Classic,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan said. “The FedExCup revolutionized the fan viewing experience and competitive landscape of the PGA TOUR, establishing a cohesive narrative throughout the schedule and a compelling conclusion to the season with the FedExCup Playoffs.” “We are proud to extend our historic sponsorship of the FedExCup, which has dramatically changed the PGA TOUR,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, senior vice president, Integrated Marketing and Communications for FedEx. “The FedExCup is the ultimate prize on the PGA TOUR, and the season-long competition has delivered some of the most exciting finishes in recent memory.” As part of the sponsorship renewal, FedEx has committed $1 million in annual donations to benefit non-profit organizations. The donations align with FedEx Cares, a global giving initiative, in which FedEx is investing $200 million in over 200 global communities by 2020 to create opportunities and deliver solutions for people around the world. Beyond defining the season champion, the FedExCup has made every tournament more meaningful through the season-long points competition and has created a consistent platform for media partners to tell the PGA TOUR story. The FedExCup Playoffs give fans the opportunity to see golf’s greatest players compete at the highest level in four high-profile events, culminating with the crowning of the FedExCup Champion. Rory McIlroy emerged as the 10th champion with a memorable title run featuring two FedExCup Playoffs victories, capped by a dramatic Sunday finish at the TOUR Championship in Atlanta. McIlroy holed out from 137 yards for an eagle-2 on East Lake Golf Club’s 16th hole and then birdied No. 18, forcing a three-way playoff with Ryan Moore and Kevin Chappell. McIlroy finally secured the victory and the FedExCup champion’s title with a 15-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole – appropriately, No. 16. In doing so, McIlroy joined an impressive list of FedExCup Champions: Tiger Woods (2007, 2009), Vijay Singh (2008), Jim Furyk (2010), Bill Haas (2011), Brandt Snedeker (2012), Henrik Stenson (2013), Billy Horschel (2014) and Jordan Spieth (2015). 

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Round 3 of the Masters gets underway Saturday. Justin Rose leads by one with Will Zalatoris, Brian Harman, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and more close behind. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Leaderboard Tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Saturday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS); Sunday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. (CBS) Radio: Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (CBS Radio; Sirius 208, XM 92) Stream: Featured Group coverage, Amen Corner and holes 15 & 16 will be available to stream via Masters.com (Saturday-Sunday, 10:15 a.m. ET) Editor’s note: Augusta National, which owns and operates the Masters Tournament, controls all digital streaming and broadcast rights to this event. PGA TOUR LIVE coverage will resume next week at RBC Heritage. MUST READS Round 2 review: The Masters Rose clings to one-shot lead at the Masters Johnson, McIlroy among big names to miss Masters weekend Masters rookie Zalatoris finds himself in Saturday’s final group Kim contending at Masters despite broken putter Win probabilities: Masters Tournament Custom gear for the 2021 Masters A return to April means a tough test at Augusta National Elder, Nicklaus, Player hit ceremonial tee shots at Masters

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NASSAU, Bahamas — In his first trip to the Hero World Challenge, it didn’t take Jon Rahm long to figure out how to score. Being aggressive starts with keeping the ball in play. And with five par 5s and a pair of reachable par 4s at Albany Golf Club, plenty of birdies should be available. That was the case Friday, when Rahm made birdies on half of his holes for a 9-under 63 to share the lead with Henrik Stenson, who had a 66. “I hit it so solid off the tee, I was always in the fairway with a short club in,” Rahm said. “I think the best way to describe it, having five par 5s and two relatively short par 4s, out of those seven holes I got six birdies. So I capitalized on the easier holes today. Didn’t seem like much could go wrong.” Only the end went wrong for tournament host Tiger Woods, and it could have been worse. Woods was 5 under for his round and trying to stay in the thick of his holiday event when he drove into a palm bush on the 18th hole. He dropped to one knee to pop the ball back to the grass, came up just short of the green, chipped weakly and made double bogey for a 69. But questions arose about this shot out of the bush. After extensive video review, it was determined he hit the ball more than once. However, because of an 18-month-old rules decision that limits the use of video evidence, Woods was spared the additional penalty because he didn’t think he made contact twice and it couldn’t be determined by the naked eye, only the use of high resolution TV played in super slow motion. “Looking at in the regular speed on a high definition television, you couldn’t tell that at all,” said Mark Russell, the PGA TOUR’s vice president of rules and competition. “But when slowed it down to ultra-slow motion, high definition television, you could see where the club did stay on the clubface quite a bit of time, and it looked like he might have hit it twice. But there’s no way he could tell that.” Even so, Woods remained eight shots behind in his first 72-hole event since ending his remarkable comeback year with a victory in the TOUR Championship. He was tied for 14th, along with Patrick Reed, who shot 40 on the front nine on his way to a 77. Patrick Cantlay, who shared the 18-hole lead with Reed, had a 70 and was one shot out of the lead along with Dustin Johnson, who had a 67 in a tropical spot where he loves to vacation but rarely contends. Johnson had a pair of sloppy bogeys early on the nine — one didn’t bother him too much when 3-year-old son Tatum came out to greet him — and recovered nicely on the back nine with four straight birdies to get in the mix. Tony Finau had a 64 and was two shots behind. Stenson nearly rallied from a seven-shot deficit in 2016, only to finish toward the bottom of the pack last year. He has had enough rest for the tendon in his left elbow to quit bothering him on the golf course, and he gets another crack at winning this weekend. “I’ll try and make it to the finish line,” Stenson said. “I haven’t played a lot of golf, though. Since the Ryder Cup, I had an injury problem, I was out for five weeks. So I guess I should be a little bit fresher than some of my colleagues who call me from Hong Kong or somewhere else at this point. I’m feeling all right. We just keep on going, try to make as many birdies as we can.” Everyone was under par going into the weekend, with Jason Day bringing up the rear at 1-under 143. It’s a testament to the good scoring conditions, with all but two players under par in the second round — Reed and Bubba Watson, who had a 73. Woods was hopeful of much better considering how he struck the ball, though he missed plenty of chances. “I didn’t really figure out my putter well today, missed quite a few short ones,” Woods said. “I hit the ball close — close enough to really have a shot of a low number today — just didn’t do it.” Rahm figured out the secret to that. He hit it so well off the tee but he had no choice but to stay aggressive and attack flags, and there’s no reason to stop now in his final event of the year with five players separated by just two shots. “On days like today, I just didn’t really think about my swing,” he said. “It was like a well-oiled machine.”

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